마더
"She'll stop at nothing."
Mother - Characters & Cast
Character Analysis
Mother (Hye-ja)
Kim Hye-ja
Motivation
To protect her son Do-joon at absolutely any cost, driven by guilt from a past attempt to kill him and herself.
Character Arc
Starts as a frantic, sympathetic figure trying to save her son against a corrupt system. Devolves into a ruthless protector who commits murder to cover up the truth, ending as a tragic figure who chooses willful amnesia over guilt.
Yoon Do-joon
Won Bin
Motivation
To avoid being called 'retard' (pabo), which triggers his violent rage.
Character Arc
Appears as a helpless, childlike victim of a miscarriage of justice. It is revealed he is the killer, triggered by a specific insult, shattering the audience's perception of his innocence.
Jin-tae
Jin Goo
Motivation
Money and loyalty (in that order).
Character Arc
Initially suspected by the mother of being the real killer or a bad influence. He proves to be a pragmatic, if mercenary, ally who helps the mother uncover the truth.
Junk Collector
Lee Young-suk
Motivation
To tell the truth about what he saw.
Character Arc
A hermit who saw the truth. He becomes the innocent casualty of the mother's desperate need to bury the secret.